Ezra Chapter 9: Away with the Husk!
Verses 5-6:
Then, at the evening sacrifice, I rose from my self-abasement, with my tunic and cloak torn, and fell on my knees with my hands spread out to the Lord my God and prayed: "I am too ashamed and disgraced, my God, to lift my face to you, because our sins are higher than our heads and our guilt has reached to the heavens."
◇ After reading Chapter 9 and reflecting on it, a poem's title comes to mind: "Away with the Husk!" I vaguely remember it as a poem longing for purity, the essence, from the 1970s to 1980s, which was a time of resistance against military dictatorship in South Korea. What if there's only the husk without the kernel? It would be useless and meaningless.
Ezra, with high hopes, returned to Jerusalem after about a hundred years to offer sacrifices at the temple. When he offered sacrifices, he tore his garments, knelt down, and wept bitterly. Despite all the obstacles, the temple, which had been in ruins, was finally completed after decades of combined effort. Ezra had returned, swollen with dreams of worshiping only the Lord God in that temple, but he encountered situations he had never dreamed of. The Israelites, the priests, and the Levites were engaging in detestable practices of the Canaanites, which included acts that were abhorrent. The word "detestable," translated here as "abhorrent," is used in the Bible to refer to traditionally forbidden sexual relations (Leviticus 18:26-30) or idolatry (Deuteronomy 7:25-26; 12:31, etc.). The priests, Levites, and people who were offering sacrifices in the temple were all involved in these detestable acts. What was the point of building the temple with such difficulty if it was to be used for these purposes?
No matter how beautiful the temple is and even if sacrifices are offered according to the law, if their hearts are not turned towards God and they do not live according to His will, the temple is nothing more than a husk. The regulations of the law are also just a husk. God can destroy that temple and reduce it to ruins at any time. What use is a husk without the kernel?
Ezra's purpose in returning to Jerusalem was to teach the law, to make known the will of God, and to lead the people to become a people who act according to God's will. It was to preserve the pure kernel. Away with the husk that lacks the kernel!
God, we often get distracted by the husk. Turn our eyes and hearts towards the pure kernel, and help us to live with that kernel within us. Holy Spirit, lead us into all truth!